SINGAPORE : Children, reportedly aged about 10 to 14 years old, have been spotted selling ice cream in housing estates across Singapore.

Strolling their carts around estates, they approached people or knocked on doors asking residents to buy ice cream for around S$10.

Yvonne Schelkis said she was on the way home from work when she was approached by a group of three boys about six months ago.

"The kids were downstairs at the void deck. So they kind of accost you when you trying to go to the lifts and asked if you want to buy some ice-cream," said Schelkis, a resident at Tampines Arcadia, Block 842F.

Another Tampines resident Tan Meng Khong said this has become a common sight.

Two children come knocking on his door to sell ice cream about once a month.

"They showed me branded ice-cream like Walls, Magnolia. But I am not sure if those are from a manufacturer or where the source is," said Tan, who stays at Block 842B, Tampines Arcadia.

According to Tan, one of the children looked less than 10 years old.

So does this mean the child's employer and parents had flouted the law?

Under the Employment Act (Employment of Children and Young Persons Regulations), children must be at least 13 years old before they can be employed.

Errant employers, as well as parents who allow their under-aged children to work, can be fined a maximum of S$2,000 and jailed up to two years.

An employer or parent or guardian who knowingly or negligently suffers or permits a child to be employed faces a maximum S$2,000 fine or imprisonment of not more than two years or both.

If a child dies or is injured, the offender would be fined S$2,000 and also faces a maximum two-year prison term.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it received reports about children selling ice cream three times this year.

But its officers said they could not find the children, and the NEA is not able to determine if the ice cream was from a licensed source. - CNA /ls